


Hold You Close

by Marasa



Category: Twenty One Pilots
Genre: Anxiety, Cuddling, Fluff, M/M, Shy, Soft Boys, protective, tyler is the big spoon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-10
Updated: 2018-07-10
Packaged: 2019-06-08 04:00:57
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,487
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15234861
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Marasa/pseuds/Marasa
Summary: “Can we?” Tyler murmurs and without a thought, Josh reaches out to him.“C’mere.”





	Hold You Close

Josh has been trying to focus on the television but Tyler’s intense staring from the other couch is really making it difficult.

Knees bouncing, picking at his nails in his lap, it’s clear something’s bothering him. 

Josh sighs quietly and turns onto his right side so he can give Tyler his undivided attention.

“What’s up?” 

Tyler startles at the sudden volume of his voice. He blinks, chews the inside of his cheek.

“Nothing.”

“Tyler.”

“Josh.”

The quiet between them isn’t uncomfortable but there’s definitely something there that needs to be addressed.

“You can talk to me about anything,” Josh reminds him softly. “Always.”

His gentle tone of voice has Tyler parting his lips and looking down at his lap.

It’s clear he does want to talk, so Josh waits patiently. 

“You know, like…”

Tyler’s voice trails off, like he’s not sure if he wants to continue. He keeps picking at his nails. He refuses to look up.

“Hm?” Josh prompts softly.

Tyler clears his throat.

“You know how Ethan was over the other night?”

“Yeah.”

“And you guys were on the couch.”

“Yeah.”

Then it’s as if Tyler’s done talking.

Josh waits for a few seconds for something but Tyler’s suddenly quiet, seemingly too shy to continue.

“Ethan’s a close buddy of mine,” Josh says just for something to say and to hopefully encourage his friend to continue. “I've known him my entire life pretty much.”

Tyler raises his eyebrows. He doesn’t look up. 

“We’re close buddies,” Tyler murmurs.

Josh chuckles, more than a little confused.

“Uh, yeah. And Ethan is my close buddy too. I’m allowed to have more than one close buddy, I think.”

“That’s not my point.”

“Okay, well what is your point? Because I’m not getting it, Tyler.”

In the silence that follows, Josh thinks back to a few nights ago to try and understand Tyler’s behavior. 

Ethan, a close childhood friend of Josh’s, happened to be in Seattle for a work at the same time they were touring through it. 

They met up, picked up dinner, took a walk and ended up hanging out at the tour bus so they could catch up.

Everyone else had been out, including Tyler, to take full advantage of their day off. It’s not like Josh was glad they were gone, but it was nice getting to spend some quiet time with his friend after not seeing him for so long.

They ended up laying down on the couch in the lounge, Ethan spooning Josh as they laughed loudly together about some dumb movie they found on Netflix. 

Tyler had walked in a little while later.

As soon as he noticed the two of them laying closely together, Ethan’s arm thrown over Josh’s waist and Josh’s head tilted back a little to laugh with him, Tyler was hurrying past them with his head down and a murmur of how he forgot something in his bunk.

Ethan had asked Josh if Tyler was okay once the singer was gone and Josh, still too caught up with seeing his good friend again and the movie, waved him off and said yeah, he was fine, he just got nervous around new people.

If he thinks about it, Tyler’s been exceptionally quiet and acting strange ever since.

There’s suddenly a pit in Josh’s stomach.

“Did it weird you out or something?” he asks.

“Hm?”

“Did it weird you out? Me and Ethan on the couch?”

“No, no,” Tyler mumbles with a small shake of his head. “I was just… I…”

“Tyler.”

His shoulders tense. 

“Look at me. Please.”

It takes a few seconds for Tyler to look up from the safety of his lap. His brown eyes reflect the dim light of the nearby lamp.

Tyler keeps his eyes set on Josh’s as he sighs in defeat and stops fidgeting with his fingers.

“Ethan’s a close buddy of yours. I'm a close buddy of yours. But it's like, we never do that stuff.”

“Okay?” Josh says, still confused.

“I'm just saying- why don't we?”

Josh blinks, caught completely off-guard.

“Oh, uh. I didn't know you would be comfortable with that.”

“I'm completely comfortable with that.”

“I didn't know.”

“Well now you do.”

“Okay.”

“Mhm.”

Tyler taps his feet on the floor. He starts biting his fingernails. His eyes are set to the floor again.

Josh is overcome by a warmth that starts in his chest and creeps through his entire body. He’s definitely surprised but seeing Tyler like this, flustered and shy, makes his heart swell in fondness.

“Do you wanna cuddle right now?” Josh asks.

Tyler looks up at him. 

“S- Sure, yeah.” He shrugs, tries to sound nonchalant. “If you want to, that's fine.”

Josh smirks. “But I'm asking if you want to.”

Even in the comforting shadows of the lounge, Josh can make out the signs of a blush playing upon his face.

“Dude, you don't have to be nervous,” he says, tucking a hand between his cheek and the couch. 

“I'm not nervous,” Tyler counters immediately before murmuring out the truth. “Maybe a little embarrassed.”

“It's okay, Tyler.”

They share a look of warm affection and unspoken feelings so strong that it causes Tyler to avert his gaze, self-conscious, and Josh’s heart to race.

“Can we?” Tyler murmurs and without a thought, Josh reaches out to him.

“C’mere.”

Tyler stands and crosses the space between them. He crawls over Josh and settles in the space made behind him. His front presses against Josh’s back. He drops his hips down a little so Josh’s ass can fit perfectly in the cradle of his hips. 

“Is this okay?” Tyler asks, still a little unsure.

Josh can't help the goosebumps that rise at the feeling of Tyler’s exhale against the back of his neck.

“Yeah.”

Tyler might be behind him but he still feels far away with his hands tucked against his own stomach, too worried about doing something wrong.

Josh reaches back and takes a gentle hold of Tyler’s wrist. There’s a soft grunt of surprise as Josh guides it over his waist.

“You can, uh-”

“Oh. Yeah, okay.”

Tyler’s arm now over him brings a certain atmosphere of closeness to form around them. Together, they allow themselves to relax into the feeling that is surprisingly natural.

Tyler’s subtle at first as he barely touches his nose to the back of Josh’s head but soon enough, he’s nuzzling his blue curls softly. 

Josh sighs a little louder than he intended and the arm around his waist tightens minutely, just enough to be interpreted as subtly protective. 

Their bodies go looser. Their breathing gets deeper.

Tyler’s slender thumb barely strokes at the edge of Josh’s pants through his shirt.

“Are you okay?” Tyler whispers just under his ear. 

Josh exhales an airy laugh of disbelief.

“Awesome.”

The TV is forgotten as they focus on each other completely.

Josh leans back against Tyler’s chest, relishing the warmth and proximity. Tyler takes to curling over him just enough so his right cheek rests on the left side of the other’s head. He nudges the top of Josh’s ear with the tip of his nose every now and then as if reminding him he's there. 

A knee gently separates Josh’s legs so it can settle between them and Josh actually whimpers an airy sigh, not at all embarrassed because this is his best friend, the man he’s been pining over for so long. 

Their hands find each other, fingers loosely intertwined and settled close to Josh’s stomach. Tyler caresses the top of Josh’s thumb with his own. 

He's slow. Soft. Conscious.

With the heartbeat pressed against his back and the warmth and attention Tyler is showering him with, Josh begins to doze.

Every now and then Josh will squeeze Tyler’s hand lightly as he begins to slip into deeper sleep. Tyler simply smiles and slips his nose behind Josh’s ear, breathing a soft breath there that has Josh waking just long enough to share in his soft laughter.

Tyler murmurs something in a whisper that Josh misses.

“Hm?” he questions sleepily.

“I wanna hold you like this more,” Tyler says, barely louder than a whisper, intimate. “I like you being with me.”

Josh smiles dumbly, eyes shut.

“I'm always with you.”

The arms around him hold him tighter. The next words spoken are accompanied by lips dragging lazily at the corner of his jaw.

“Need you close like this.”

Josh squeezes his fingers.

“You have me.”

The evening is lost in exploratory touches and adoring whispers, some of them consisting of only the other’s name, some being quietly crooned lyrics to lull Josh asleep.

“Joshua,” Tyler exhales warmly against his temple.

“Ty...ler…” Josh manages to get out, now mostly asleep.

He falls asleep to the feeling of calloused fingers holding his own, a nose nudging the side of his head and a soft pair of lips pressed softly under his ear.


End file.
